Governor Douye Diri

It was another victory for Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa on Tuesday as the Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri declared him the validly elected candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP for the November 2019 governorship election of his State.

The Court, delivered the verdict in the appeal filed by Ndutimi Alaibe, challenging  the emergence of  Diri as the winner of PDP primary for the governorship election.

The former presidential adviser on Niger Delta had complained that the primary election was rigged in favour of Diri.

A Federal High Court sitting in Owerri had earlier dismissed the suit in which Alaibe, who was also a governorship aspirant of the PDP for the 2019 governorship election, joined the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as respondents.

Justice Tijjani Ringim of Federal High Court had in the ruling delivered on March 10 while dismissing Alaibe’s suit for lack of merit, said,  “Evidence available to me indicates that the process leading to the emergence of Diri as the candidate of the PDP in the September 3 governorship primaries in Bayelsa was legitimate. I hereby dismiss this suit for lack of merit.”

However, Alaibe, a former presidential adviser, proceeded to the Court of Appeal which also affirmed the judgment of the lower court on Tuesday.

Diri was sworn in as governor of Bayelsa State on February 14 after the Supreme Court sacked David Lyon, the candidate of the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC who won the election less than 24 hours before his inauguration as governor of the state.